Improvement in carriages for raising and transporting ordnance



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CALEB BATES, OF KINGSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN CARRIAGES FOR RAISING AND TRANSPORTING ORDNANCE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 44,390, dated September27, 1864.

To all whom it may concern y Beit known that I, OALEB BATES, a residentof Kingston, inthe county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented a new or Improved Carriage for Raising and TransportingOrdnance; and I do hereby declare the same to be fully described in thefollowing specification and represented in the accompanying drawings, ofwhich- Figure l is a top view, Fig. 2 a side elevation, Fig. 3 an endview, and Fig. 4a transverse section, of it.

The said carriage is so constructed as not only to have a clear spacebetween the axles of its two rear wheels, but each of the said wheels issupported within and by two strong trusses orfranies, which are combinedwith an axle-bearer and a trussed frame for sustaining the operativemachinery for raising a gun. Furthermore, the two barrels of thewindlass have their helical grooves so connected by one being run intothe other that the chain may coil from the larger to and upon thesmaller, in order that the said chain, by depending from opposite sidesof the smaller barrel, and whle holding a gun raised so as to betransported by the carriage, shall operate to prevent the windlass fromrevolving. Furthermore, the king-bolt of the front axle is not onlysupported by the front or axle-beam of the carriage, but by a furcatedbrace extending backward from it to the side truss-frames of thecarriage.

In the drawings, A and 13,0 and D, are the four side trusses orwheelframes, they being arranged and constructed as represented. Awheel, E, is placed between the trusses of each pair A B and C D, andhas its axle supported in boxes a ai, applied to i such trusses. The twoaxles are separate, so that there may be a clear space between them andthe two inner trusses. At their front ends the four trusses areconnected to and supported on an axle beam or bar, Ef, which in turnrests on the front axle, F, and is connected thereto by a king-bolt, G.4The axle F is provided with two wheels, H H, and a drafttongue, I. Twocross ties, K K, are extended from one. to the other pair of thetruss-frames at their respective ends and upper surfaces, and are boltedsecurely thereto. Furthermore, there is an open frame, L, arranged onthe pairs of the truss-frames and extending l from one to the other ofthem, it being bolted or fastened to them and provided with hoit'ezontal land inclined braces for keeping it in place.

The king-bolt G ot` the vfront axle passts down through bearings s t,projecting from the rear side ot' the bar E. It also goes through theeye n ot a furcated iron brace, S, whose legs extend back and-arefastened to the two pairs of truss-frames. Fig. 6 is an under side Viewof the carriage with the furcated brace as applied to the same and theking bolt. In this way the king-bolt will'be supported by the said braceand the trussframes, as well as by the bar E, the latter being therebyrelieved from much of the strain or" the draft-animals when yoked orharnessed to the tongue and in the act of drawing the carriage forward.

The frame L serves to support a double windlass composed of two barrels,c d, the two ends ot' a single chain, c, heilig fastened to thesebarrels, respectively. The chain depends from the two barrels and goespartially around the wheel of a pulley, j', from which the slings g g,for holding a gun by its trunnions, extend. Each of these barrelsisgroovcd helically on its outer curved surface and from end to endthereof, one barrel having a dialneter greater than the other. Thehelical groove of one barrel is run into that of the other by a shortconical barrel or frustuin, 7.", arranged between the two and on thesame axis with them.

Before the formation of the helical grooves in the barrels, they wouldhave the appeary ance as shown in Fig. 5, in which they are lrepresented as two cylinders, c d, united by an interposed conicfrustum, k. In forming the helical groove for supporting the chain it isto be run from the barrel c down and around the frustum 7c, and t? enceon and around the cylinder d.

By rotating the doube w'ndlass the chain will be caused to wind on thelarger barrel and unwind from the smaller. As the larger barrel willtake up the chain faster than 'it will be given oft' by the smallerbarrel, the result will be that the pulley and its slings will be raisedupward. After the chain may have filled the entire groove of the largerbarrel it will descend the groove of the conic frustum 7c and pass intothe groove of the lesser barrel, in which case the chain will depend l,become set, or over-strained, or injured. Any

from opposite sides of the lesser barrel. Then, as the weight borne bythe chain will act on opposite sides of the barrel, it will not operateto turn the windlass more in one than in the opposite direction.

The windlass is provided with a double ratchet-wheel, M, and twolever-pawls, N O, which, by nicans of crossed rods lm, are connected tothe head n of a brakelever, P, whose fulcruin 0 is supported Within astandard. R, the whole being arranged as shown in the drawings.

By moving the brake-lever with a reciproeatin g movement the pawls willbe caused to alternately take into the double ratchet-wheel and rotatethe same so as to cause the rotation ofthe Windlass.

Two detachersprings, p q, are placed on the top of the head n of thebrake lever, one end of each spring being fastened to such head. Chainsr r, with hooks on their ends, extend down from the free ends of thesesprings, and when used are to bc hooked into springs placed under thebrake-head are, to y i force tending to overstrain the springs will, funder my arrangement of them, cause theln to be brought hard up againstthe top surface of the brake-head.

An ordnance transport-carriage constructed as described will be found towork to excellent advantage in our fortifications and dockyards.

1. The combination and arrangement ofthe four truss-frames A B C D, theframe L, and the axlebar or beam E', together and with the windlass andits operative mechanism, substantially as hereinbefore described.

2. The arrangement of the furcated brace S with the truss-frames A B C1), the axle beam or bar E', and the kingbolt G.

3. I do not claim the combination of two windlass-barrels and one chain,having its end attached to the two barrels, respectively but what I doclaim is my improvement thereon, the same consisting in connecting thehelical grooves of the two barrels by running one into the other bymeans of a grooved frustuin arranged between and combined with the twogrooved barrels, and so that the chain may coil from the larger to andupon the smaller ofthe two barrels, in manner and for the purpose or soas to operate as specified.

4. My improved arrangement of the detaching-sprin gs Wilh respect to thepawls and brake-head.

CALEB BATES.

Witnesses:

R. H. EDDY, F. P. HALE, Jr.

